A variety of buckwheat in full bloom. Photo: fishermansdaughter, flickr

Few American festivals celebrate a foodstuff as archaic as this weekend's Buckwheat Festival in Preston County, W. Va., which annually showcases a dish the New York Times deemed outdated nearly a century ago.

"According to millers, the consumption of buckwheat has fallen off not less than 30 percent in the last five years," the paper reported in 1910. "Where once the mounds of well-browned flapjacks, flanked by the molasses jug, reigned supreme at the breakfast table, now the patent breakfast foods alone are to be seen."

Corn flakes weren't the only culprit in buckwheat pancakes' disappearance from the American table: As new chemical fertilizers facilitated the farming of wheat, most growers abandoned the substitute crop. Buckwheat fields -- which occupied more than 1 million acres of U.S. land when the Times printed its buckwheat lament -- accounted for just 50,000 acres in 1964, when the USDA last bothered to count.

A few of those buckwheat farmers, no doubt, lived near Preston County, which pinned its economic hopes on the plant during the Depression.

Salt and Pepper ice cream at Humphry Slocombe. Photo: Bradley Allen, Flickr.

Cold Stone Creamery last month introduced an ice cream that doesn't melt, which has led New York Magazine to say this week that Cold Stone's Jell-O-like dessert is proof positive that ice cream has become the latest playground for culinary innovation.

Indeeed, the world of frozen cream is much changed from those triple-threat Neapolitan cartons of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry many of us grew up with.

Just last month, our editors were smitten by Vosges' new curry coconut ice cream at the Fancy Food Show, Gourmet recently featured the wackiness that is San Francisco's Humphry Slocombe shop (prosciutto ice cream, anyone?) and Jeni's in Columbus, Ohio, peddles Thai chili ice cream alongside not so plain honey vanilla. In New York, Wylie Dusfresne serves a perfect miniature "everything" bagel -- made entirely of ice cream, naturally -- at his restaurant wd-50.

If the answer is yes, then you are considered to be part of a minority, or so claims a recent study of 3,000 eaters by the NPD Group, a marketing-research company. According to an article from the Chicago Sun-Times, the reason why people are not using recipes is because the No. 1 food for dinner in the U.S. is the sandwich. Can this really be true?

Perhaps, a lot less shocking is the trend towards using online recipes instead of cookbooks. Fellow blog, The EpiLog is also surprised by NPD Group's "sandwich theory" to explain the fact that people are not using recipes. The EpiLog states that people may not be using recipes, because they are cooking family meals from a "basic stable of a few standard dinners that are familiar, easy, and keep everyone happy." But, to me, what also seems a huge factor is the little time that people have to devote to meal planning.

Just because someone is not following a recipe that does not mean we should assume that this person just eats sandwiches. Perhaps, people are cooking omelets, pasta and a number of other dishes that do not necessarily require a recipe. Check out the poll below and let us know what you think.

One of the best gastronomic experiences is the gooey rich creaminess of caramel slowly melting on one's palate. Over the past few years, we have seen an increasing number of products, such as Poco Dolce's burnt caramel toffee, adding salt into the caramel equation. A recent New York Times article explains how this extraordinarily sweet and savory combo went from elite chichi Parisian pastry shops to the American mass-market (stores such as Wal-Mart) and the soon-to-be Obama White House.

The article suggests that the financial success of this exquisite pair is due to a fortunate profitable trend cycle. Parisian pastry chefs initiated American chefs' obsession with the caramel-sea salt blend. Then, it ended up in specialty food magazines and food shows. Soon enough, chain restaurants, like the Cheesecake Factory, began selling them. Finally, Wal-Mart picked up on the trend. Of course, it would not have caught on so quickly if it were not for Americans' long-established taste for salty mixed with sweet, a flavor picked up gracias to dulce de luche from South America and Mexico.

As fellow blog Salt News states, the NY Times focuses on the financial and cultural success of the caramel-salt mix without ever delving into the gastronomic sensations it elicits. The title of the article, "How Caramel Developed a Taste for Salt," is misleading since there is never any substantial information explaining how this caramel concoction developed in small villages in the region of Brittany in France. I'm left wondering whether or not caramel indeed activates a desire for salt. Instead, the article gets carried away with Obama's love for salty caramel delights as though it would be hard to imagine. Could you blame him?

All month, magazines and blogs have abuzz with forecasts for the 2009 food year. Some take their roles as psychic seriously, others skewer and flame-broil the whole concept. I, for one, find both approaches pretty entertaining. Whether earnest or facetious, most lists include something about fad diets and sustainability, as well as at least a couple recession-related predictions, whether that means home cooking or casual restaurants. Bacon, yet again, figures into more than one list.

Enough summary. Here are the links:

From the serious...

• Gourmet presents its picks in slide-show form.
• Food and Wine sticks to restaurants.
• Epicurious says what is the new whatever.
• A blog called Eat Me Daily revisits and reviews last year's picks from Epicurious.

To the silly...

• Also from the blogosphere, Fine Furious Life weighs in.
• Serious Eats belies its name.
• Frank Bruni and Kim Severson unknit their collective brow in the Diner's Journal blog.
• Food Marathon, in my opinion, wins the day with their hilarious photo-enhanced shenanigans.

Apparently the world is consuming more chilies. A recent article from the Economist explains that "bland diets of Europe and the Anglosphere" have spent the past 50 years becoming more tolerant towards hotter chilies with the popularity of curries, salsa, and tabasco sauce.

The Economist article mentions the increasing popularity of chilies in nearly every dish from rice and jelly to chocolate. Tesco, Britain's largest supermarket chain, now sells Dorset naga which rates 1.6m units on the Scoville scale, measurement of hotness. Pepper spray used in riot control scores 2m.

Despite this obsession with the heat of the chili, many connoisseurs argue that the level of heat does not define the flavor profile. For them, it's like judging wine based on its alcohol content rather than its quality. These gourmets are more struck by the presence of chili in many more foods than in the past. It could be due to the fact that chilies have a chemical called capsaicin which causes the release of endorphins that create a natural high. In fact, the more chilies you consume, the better this high gets. Also, the Economist explains that capasaicin excites a nerve that makes us more receptive to other flavors.

During the first couple of days of July, I nibbled my way through three floors of New York City's Javits Center while attending the Summer Fancy Food Show. Several other folks from AOL Food and Epicurious were also there, tasting chips, cheese, chocolates and dips. We discovered that there are quite a few people making artisanal chocolate, flavoring things with lavender and pear-ginger and doing amazing things with live foods among many other, tasty things.

We've all sorted through our samples, press kits and memories, trying to bring you what we think was the very best of the show in one fun, appealing slideshow that you can find over at AOL Food. Head on over, take and look and then come back over here and let us know what you think. Did we pick anything you love? Or did we happen to hit on a product you've tried and not liked? We want to hear what you think!

[via: AOL Food]

The New Year is always full of possibilities. There are meals to be eaten, recipes to try and, of course, a slew of new food trends that will shape the way we eat and what food issues will be at the forefront of the news. Of all the trends that seemed to be pushing towards the forefront in recent months, these are some of those that look like they're about to have a breakout year.

Single Origin Chocolates - Dark chocolate was the hot item last year, but more companies, including Hershey's, are introducing and promoting single origin chocolates with cocoa beans from one country - or even one plantation - for their unique flavor profiles.

Healthy Soft Drinks - Jones Soda has eliminated high fructose corn syrup from their recipes. Enviga has been fairly successful so far, thanks to the large amount of publicity that it has received, and Diet Coke Plus will be coming to stores in a few months. Look for other soda companies to follow suit.

Healthy Food Labels - Hannaford supermarket introduced a labeling scheme of their own to direct shoppers to healthier foods and the traffic light system was a success in the UK. Don't be surprised to see more obvious messages about what is and is not good for you.

Every niche in the food world is going to see their share of trends in the new year, from fast food to the ultra-luxe havens of molecular gastronomy, and Epicurious has just put in their two cents as to what some of those trends will be. Although they don't come right out and say so, it is pretty easy to see that their trends don't apply directly to all diners/cooks. Based on their selections, it appears that their picks are for the gourmet food niche. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's good to keep some perspective when reading forcasts for trends like number one on their list:

1. An increase in the number of "foie gras speakeasies", "private clubs having secret dinners, feasting on the forbidden fattened duck liver."
2. Iberico ham from Spain will become wildly popular.
3. More people will shop at farmers' markets and start to grow their own produce.
4. There will be more ethnic fine dining restaurants.
5. Fair trade will become a buzzword in the same vein as "organic" was this year.
6. More quality bread will be baked in restaurants.
7. Spicy drinks and cocktails will be big in restaurant bars. Jalapeno margarita, anyone?
8. Hot dogs will be the new hamburgers.
9. Small coffee roasters will be the new coffee trend (or you could just roast at home).
10. Consumers will continue to care more about the quality of the food they are buying/eating, not just the quantity.

Thanks to the trickle down effect of trends, the more accessible ones will hit the mainstream quickly (more hot dogs (#8) by summer), but the others might take more time to gain widespread popularity.

A city councilman in Philidelphia, Jack Kelly, has developed a plan that would block the sale of foie gras. Modeled after the Chicago ban, which prevents foie gras from being sold by retailers and at restaurants, Kelly suggests implementing similar measures. Predictably, there is resistance from some in the restaurant community. Retailers like Assouline & Ting, which supplies foie gras to eateries, also oppose the ban, saying that they would have to lay of some employees if that sector of their business was curtailed.

There is obviously at least some support for the proposal, as there is a petition online with over 1,300 signatures in favor of a city-wide ban.

 New studies show that preference for artificial sweeteners is based on a lack of extraneous flavors in the sweetener, not not the sweetness level of the substance. Thirteen sweeteners were rated according to how prevalent bitter, sour or metallic tastes were in them. Sugar was, not surprisingly, ranked the highest in the test. Sucralose, also known as Splenda, was the second most popular sweetener, with a "lack of noticeable sour and bitter tastes." Xylitol (a sweetener commonly used in chewing gum), aspartame (Equal and Nutra-Sweet), saccharine (Sweet N'Low) and Stevia were also ranked highly by tasters. Sugar is the standard when creating artificial sweeteners, so it makes sense that the products that tasted most like sugar would be the most popular.

What sweetener do you prefer when sugar isn't available?

The Wrigley gum company is on a mission to prove that gum is not something to be chewed for fun and to annoy teachers. After years of the underappreciation of the value of its products, the company has turned to science for some answers. The Wrigley Science Institute was founded to discover whether gum can actually aid in weight management, stress relief, or in boosting concentration, all claims that have been made and passed along by gum chewers over the years. If the Science Institute can find sufficient evidence, the company can then claim the health benefits of the product on the products' packaging or in ads.

Just think back to all the elemantary school teachers who told you not to chew gum in class. If the Wrigley Science Institute is right about some of their theories, those same teachers could be passing out sticks of gum before tests!

What exactly is a casserole?

It is a slowly cooked mixture of a number of foods, often including meats and vegetables. Pies both sweet and savory are the forerunners of the modern casserole. The word casserole comes from a French term meaning "served in the dish used for cooking."  While this does describe the modern casserole, it is much too broad a definition. Today, many meals are served in the same dish they are cooked in, from soups to baked and roasted chicken. To really pinpoint what defines a casserole, a more specific description is needed.

Cakes and other "baked goods" must be excluded, though they can be baked and served from casserole dishes. Cakes and brownies do not maintain the distinction of their various ingredients as they cook; they change to result in a wholly new product.

Dishes like tuna noodle casserole and lasagna are classic and familiar examples of casseroles. They both contain a mixture of ingredients baked together and are served straight out of the baking dish. The ingredients do not meld together in any significant way, remaining mixed, yet separate. Both dishes also hold their shape fairly well when cut, so many think of casseroles as having a high degree of  sliceability.

And we thought it was just the European Union that had crazy ideas about fruit - you know, like bananas had to be straight and other such stuff (which, admittedly, is usually made up by the popular press).

But the regulator that looks after food in Australia and New Zealand plans on disqualifying most stone fruits and apples as healthy as they contain more than 16g of sugar per serving. The article at the New Zealand Times reports that in the past, eggs, spinach (something to do with the acidity), fish (mercury) and red meat have all fallen foul of the "food police" at one time or another. But ready meals and the added sugar and preservatives in food have not.

They also point out that the Food Standards board fail to recognize that fresh fruit scontain valuable minerals, vitamins and fiber.

The Winter Fancy Food Show just wrapped up in San Francisco. The show is one of the largest gatherings of specialty food retailers in the country, where they gather to show off new products, highlight new trends and encourage the buyers from stores across the country to carry their products. There were over 80,000 new products and 1,100 exhibitors. "Specialty food" is a term that is usually applied to relatively rare foods, very high quality ingredients and small production runs, but as consumers become more interested in health, nutrition and, most importantly, taste, specialty foods are enjoying wider popularity than ever before.

One of the most obvious trends this year is the shift towards natural and organic foods, with many companies aiming to simplify their ingredient lists and use ultra high quality ingredients. Many products boasted the use of organic materials. Heidi noticed that "superfoods", like acai and green tea, were making a strong showing, while simmer sauces and relishes spiced things up a bit. There were many whole grain products, including whole grain baking mixes from King Arthur Flour. Another big showing was made by specialty salts and fleur de sel, which appeared in its pure form as well as in candies, like Fran's Grey Salt and Smoked Salt Caramels.